Preparation of tertiary organophosphine oxides

ABSTRACT

Organophosphines are converted to their final phosphorus oxidation products by the addition of 1, 2 or 3 atom equivalents of oxygen by treating the primary, secondary or tertiary organophosphine starting material with aqueous alkali.

Lambert Bee, 3, 1974 1 PREPARATIION OF TERTIARY 3,242,217 3/1966 Hammann ct nl. 260/6065 P @RGANOPHOSPHHNE OXIDES 3,467 7l7' 9/1969 Priestley 260/6065 P 3.520.939 7/1970 Brennan 1. 260/6065 P [75]. Inventor: Ronald 1F. Lambert, Melrose, Mass. [73] Assignee: Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge,

Mass v v Primary Examiner-Daniel E. Wyman g Assistant Examiner-A. P. Demers 1 P1169: 27, 1973 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sybil A. Campbell [21] Appl. No.: 391,631

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 888,023, Dec. 24, 1969. ACT

[52] US. Cl. .1 260/6065 1P, 71/86, 117/136, Organophosphines are converted to their final phos- 424/222, 424/223 phorus oxidation products by the addition of l, 2 or 3 [51] Int. Cl. C07i 9/28 atom equivalents of oxygen by treating the primary,

[58] Field oi Search 260/6065 P secondary or tertiary organophosphine starting mate- 1 rial withaqueous alkali. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 Claims, No Drawings 3,145,227 8/1964 Gray son et al. 260/6065 P ite States Patent n91 .nn 335,362

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 888,023, filed Dec. 24, 1969.

This invention relates to a novel chemical synthesis and, more particularly, to a novel method of effecting oxidation of various organophosphines.

It is the primary object of the present invention to ing certain primary, secondary and tertiary organophosphines to their final phosphorus oxidation products.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the method involving the several steps and the relation and order of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description.

According to the present invention, aqueous alkalisoluble organophosphines may be converted to their final phosphorus oxidation products by the addition of either 1, 2 or 3 atom equivalents of oxygen as determined by the numeral of initial organic radicals in the starting material. This is achieved by treating the starting material with aqueous alkali wherein the source of the atom equivalents of oxygen is the aqueous medium. Thus, alkali-soluble tertiary organophosphines, PR wherein R is an organic radical are converted to the corresponding tertiary organophosphine oxides, (O)PR by the addition of 1 atom equivalent of oxygen. Secondary and primary organophosphines, HPR and H PR, which are soluble in aqueous alkali, are oxidized presumably through intermediate oxidation states to their respective final oxidation products, namely, phos phinic acids, R P(O) (OH) and phosphonic acids, RP(O)(OH) by the addition of 2 and 3 atom equivalents of oxygen, respectively.

The following reaction schemes are shown so as to be illuminating and thereby to clarify the description of the chemical transformation described herein and do not imply any actual knowledge of the suggested sequence of events and therefore shouldnot be limiting but merelyillustrative.

(RPOH) H2 o L RPioH H A The preparation of phosphonic and phosphinic acids provide an economical and efficrent method of OXldlZ- 10 f om intermediate oxidation products of primary and secondary phosphines using alkali is known. Ref: R. F.

Hudson, Structure and Mechanism in Organo- Phosphorus Chemistry, Academic Press, N.Y.,- 1965, pp. 164-198 and Oxidation Methods for R to R 0, Houben-Weyl, Methoden Der Organishen Chemie, Band XII/I, Glorg Thieme Verday, Stuttgart,

Germany, 1963, pp. -144. However, it is quite unexpected that these acids may be produced directly from primary and secondary phosphines by treating with aqueous alkali. Converting tertiary phosphines to their corresponding oxides using aqueous alkali rather than an oxidizing agent, such as :a peroxide, or aerial oxidation also is unexpected. This discovery offers a rapid and efr'icient method for preparing certain tertiary phosphine oxides, phosphonic acids and phosphinic acids which is simpler and more economical it is specific for alkali-soluble phosphorus functions,

Therefore, if other air, oxygen, or oxidation-sensitive function groups or atoms are present in the same molecule, such as a. olefinic subsitutents; b. trialkylboranes c. tetraalkylsilanes 6) (A), R3P +11 0 on R3P\V 3 R3P o H2 7 I 6 I H (B) RZPH 211 0 on RZP/ s RZP/ H2 e 0 OH H o R P H o 2 H o e H H (c) RPH 3 0 on (RP (RPH d. or a distant alkali insensitive, air-sensitive R moiety;

R2P C P they are not susceptible to aqueous alkaline oxidation.

As the starting material in the present process, any primary, secondary or tertiary organophosphine may be employed provided that it is soluble in aqueous alkali. Suitable starting materials are water-soluble phosphines of the formula, PRRR" wherein R, R" and R' each are selected from hydrogen; an aliphatic radical, substituted and unsubstituted; a cycloaliphatic radical, substituted and unsubstituted; an aromatic radical, substituted or unsubstituted; and a heterocyclic radical, substituted and unsubstituted, not more than two of said R, R" and R'" being. hydrogen.

The R, R" and R'" radicals may possess ethylenic or acetlyenic unsaturation, and the carbon chains may be interrupted by heteroatoms such as sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen and boron atoms or heteroatom groups, such ll ..4 s

Also, the radicals may contain substituents, e.g., phenyl, alkyl, alkyl ether, aryl ether, alkyl thioether, aryl thioether, hydroxy, sulfhydryl, carboxy, sulfo, nitro, amino, manoalkylamino, dialkylamino, etc.

Illustrative of suitable radicals are substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, such as, methyl, ethyl, octyl, dodecyl; subsituted and unsubstituted cycloalkyl radicals, such as, cyclohexyl, cyclopentyl, cyclooctyl; substituted and unsubstituted alkenyl groups, such as, vinyl, allyl, butenyl, decenyl, octadienyl, hexatrienyl; substituted 1 and unsubstituted cycloalkenyl groups, such as cyclopentenyl, cycloheptenyl, cyclohexadienyl; substituted and unsubstituted alkynyl groups, such as ethynyl, hexynyl, octynyl; substituted and unsubstituted aryl radicals, such as, phenyl, tolyl, benzyl and naphthyl; and substituted and unsubstituted heterocyclic groups, such as those having a 4-, 5- or 6- membered ring and containing 0, N, S, P and combinations thereof derived from, e.g., pyrrole, pyrazole, oxazole, thiazole, imidazole, pyrimidine, piperidine, piperazine, thiophene, pyrrolidine, azetidine and phosphetan, phospholane, phospholene, and phosphorinane.

Ordinarily, tertiary organophosphines such as trialkyl and triaryl phosphines are insoluble in water and aqueous alkali. These phosphines do not undergo this oxidation. To render such materials soluble in aqueous alkali, at least one of the R, R" and R" radicals should contain a solubilizing substituent. Illustrative'solubilizin'g substituents-include SH, NH OH, COOH, SO H,' NHSO R and 'NR A' wherein R typically is hydrogen or alkyl and A is an anion, such as chloride. Another illustrative solubilizing substituent is 0 0 ll ll CR, COR, SO R -SO R wherein R typically is alkyl. In this case,

gives CX,Y thereby rendering the group soluble in aqueous alkali.

In the present process, the aqueous alkali may be thought of as functioning as a catalyst and is not consumed in the reaction. For practical purposes, the concentration of alkali in the medium should not fall below about 10' normal which corresponds to approximately a pH of about 9 (corrected for phosphine). Usually, we have carried out the process, 0.1 N in R with a 2 X 10 fold alkali excess, i.e., 2N, for convenience. Any strong base may be used, such as alkali metal and alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkoxides, phenoxides, oxides and carbonates. Alkali metal hydroxides, such as sodium and potassium hydroxides, have been found particularly satisfactory.

The reaction temperature may vary widely and generally ranges from room temperature, i.e., about 20 C. to C. Ordinarily, the reaction is carried out at elevated temperatures and, preferably, at about 100 C. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that when the reaction is conducted at elevated temperatures, the reaction mixture is cooled after the evolution of gas ceases to avoid any cleavage of the organic radicals initially present in the starting material. Though it is not essential, the reaction is preferably conducted under an inert atmosphere, such as, argon or nitrogen.

The following examples are given to further illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of phosphine oxide To 100 ml. of 2N aqueous sodium hydroxide, at reflux, under an argon atmosphere was delivered 2.28 g. (0.01 mole) of methyl-bis(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine. hydrochloride in 2 cc. of distilled water by syringe through a serum cap inlet. After 3 hours at reflux, the oxidation was complete as judged by the cessation of hydrogen gas evolution. The reaction mixture was made slightly acid (pH 4) by the cautious addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid. The contents of the flask were evaporated todryness under reduced pres-v sure on the rotary'evaporator. The phosphine oxide product was removed from the inorganic salts by continuous extraction with isopropyl alcohol. Evaporation and recrystallization from methanol gave 980 mg. (51 percent by weight) of product (melting range l66l69 C.).

methyl-bis( Z-carboxyethyl EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of bis-3-hydroxypropyl phosphinic acid To 100 ml. of 2N aqueous sodium hydroxide at reflux, under an argon atmosphere was delivered 0.160

' g. (1.08 m moles) of bis(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine,

boiling range 124-l25 C./0.22 mm. Hg, by syringe through a serum cap inlet. Hydrogen gas evolution began immediately and was followed by water displacement. After minutes, the required two equivalents of hydrogen gas, 52 ml., had been collected indicating that oxidation had proceeded to the phosphinic acid stage. The cooled alkaline solution was evaporated to dryness and the infrared spectrum and nmr spectrum of the sodium salt of bis(3-hydroxypropyl)-phosphinic acid was compared with spectra obtained on material from an independent route. The yield, 0.23 g. of crude residue of sodium phosphinate, was approximately quantitative as estimated by subtraction of the weight of sodium hydroxide.

EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of tris(3-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine 'oxide 7 To 200 ml. of 2N aqueous sodium hydroxide at reflux under an argon atmosphere was delivered 3.912 g. (0.01 mole) of tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine hydrobromide in 10 cc. of methanol by syringe through a serum cap inlet. After 4 hours at reflux, the oxidation was shown to be complete by the collection of 242 ml. of hydrogen gas by water displacement. The reaction mixture was allowed to stand at room temperature and a fluffy white precipitate was deposited. It was filtered under nitrogen and recrystallized from methanol to give 0.8 g.-of material whose infrared spectrum was identical to the desired product. The filtrate was made acid (pl-1 1) by the addition of aqueous 48 percent by weight hydrobromic acid solution. The water was removed under reduced pressure and the dry residue extracted with methanol. Evaporation of the methanol gave a pink solid 2.92 g. which on recrystallization from methanol gave 2.4 g. (73 percent by weight) of material, melting range 173-174 C. homogeneous on thin layer chromatography whose IR and nmr spectra were identical with a sample of the tris(4-hydroxyln a slightly modified procedure given in Example 1, the inorganic residue (after acidification and evaporation) was repeatedly extracted with chloroform. Evaporation of the dried chloroform layers gave a colorless oil whose infrared spectrum, nmr spectrum and glcp indicated that this material (35 percent by weight) was identical to a sample of methyl-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)- phosphine oxide prepared by oxidation with 35% hydrogen peroxide in acetic acid.

droxide may be employed. Also, the respective final oxidation products may be isolated and purified by using other appropriate solvents, for extraction and recrystallization, or for that matter, by using other suitable and convenient procedures conventionally used in the art.

The compounds produced in accordance withthe present invention find a variety of uses. The tertiary phenyl)phosphine oxide prepared by hydrogen bromide ether cleavage of tris(p-methoxyphenyl)phosphine oxide. 1

EXAMPLE; 4

EXAMPLE 5 In a similar manner to Example 1, tris-(2carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (melting range 178 179 C.) was converted to t'ris (2-carboxyethyl)phosphine oxide, melting range 148 150C, in a 56 percent by weight yield.

EXAMPLE 6 "Preparation of methyl-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine oxide phosphine oxides may be employed as flame retardants and as intermediates in the preparation of other phosphorus-containing organic compounds. The phosphonic and phosphinic acids find utility as insecticides, herbicidesand defoliating agents.

Since certain changes may be made in the above method without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

11. A method of oxidizing a tertiary organophosphine to the corresponding tertiary organophosphine oxide which comprises treating a tertiary organophosphine of the formula PR'R"R"' with aqueous alkali having a pH of at least 9 at a temperature between about 20C. and C. under in inert atmosphere, said tertiary organophosphine being soluble in said aqueous alkali and said R, R" and R in the-above formula each being selected from alkyl and phenyl and at least one of said R, R" and R being substituted with a hydroxy group.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said R, R" and R' of said tertiary organophosphine are selected from alkyl and hydroxyalkyl.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein said or ganophosphine is methyl-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine.

4. A method according to claim 2 wherein said organophosphine is tris(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein said R,

R and R of said tertiary phosphine are selected from phenyl and hydroxyphenyl.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein said organophosphine is tris(3-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine.

7. A method according to claim 1 whereinsaid aqueous alkali is aqueous sodium hydroxide.

8 A method according to claim 1 wherein said temperature is about 100C. 1 

1. A METHOD OF OXIDIZING A TERTIARY ORGANOPHOSPHINE TO THE CORRESPONDING TERTIARY ORGANOPHOSPHINE OXIDE WHICH COMPRISES TREATING A TERTIARY ORANOPHOSPHINE OF THE FORMULA PR''R"R''" WITH AQUEOUS ALKALI HAVING A PH OF AT LEAST 9 AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 20*C. AND 100*C. UNDER IN INERT ATMOSPHERE, SAID TERTIARY ORGANOPHOSPHINE BEING SOLUBLE IN SAID AQUEOUS ALKALI AND R'', R" AND R''" IN THE ABOVE FORMULA EACH BEING SELECTED FROM ALKYL AND PHENYL AND AT LEAST ONE OF SAID R'', R" AND R''" BEING SUBSTITUTED WITH A HYDROXY GROUP.
 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said R'', R'''' and R'''''' of said tertiary organophosphine are selected from alkyl and hydroxyalkyl.
 3. A method according to claim 2 wherein said organophosphine is methyl-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine.
 4. A method according to claim 2 wherein said organophosphine is tris(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine.
 5. A method according to claim 1 wherein said R'', R'''' and R'''''' of said tertiary phosphine are selected from phenyl and hydroxyphenyl.
 6. A method according to claim 5 wherein said organophosphine is tris(3-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine.
 7. A method according to claim 1 wherein said aqueous alkali is aqueous sodium hydroxide.
 8. A method according to claim 1 wherein said temperature is about 100*C. 